Scholarships for New Students

The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland can support undergraduate students that have to pay their own tuition fees. The scheme aims to support students who do not receive government funding towards the costs of their tuition fees following withdrawal from a previous course of study, academic repeats or because of their residence status.

For further information please consult the Carnegie Trust website.

QMU is committed to ensuring that suitably qualified candidates are not deterred from investing in their education on the grounds of ability to pay. For that reason, QMU will offer the non-repayable bursary package outlined below to all eligible students from the Rest of the UK.

QMU will use the residual household income figure calculated yearly by the Student Loans Company (SLC) when assessing a student’s bursary entitlement during each year of their studies.

The Bursary will be a cash award, enabling students to use their bursary as they wish e.g. contribution to accommodation or living costs or payment towards tuition fees.

Table: QMU Rest of UK Bursary Package

Before making your application to the University, it is important to be aware of the costs involved in studying overseas i.e. the tuition fees and the living costs. It is essential to ensure you have organised funding prior to arriving in the UK, in particular if you are an international student and you need to apply for a Student visa.

Funding

There is a lot of competition for a limited amount of funding. The following information is suggested sources of funding. It must be noted that none of the following is guaranteed. Do not travel to the UK unless you are sure that you have the funds available to pay for your studies AND your living expenses, as it is extremely difficult to make funding arrangements once you have left your home country.

First stop for funding queries

1. The Ministry of Education or Education Department in your home country will have details of scholarship information for students who want to study overseas.
2. The website is an excellent resource for information on funding. Alternatively visit your local British Council office.
3. The internet is a useful resource to search for possible sources of funding.

QMU International Scholarships

The University is pleased to offer a number of competitive scholarships of £3,000 for new international students undertaking their first year of study on an undergraduate or postgraduate taught degree. The scholarship is granted as a reduction of the tuition fee and is available to students who are self-funding with an international tuition fee of more than £9,000 for a single year of study only.

Apply online for a QMU International Scholarship

The closing dates for applications are:

• 31 March, at midnight (GMT) for first allocation September entrants
• 30 May, at midnight (GMT) for second allocation September entrants
• 31 October, at midnight (GMT) for January entrants

Applications can be made by students who have made an application to study at Queen Margaret University, although you do not need to have received an offer at the point of applying for a scholarship.

Saltire Scholarships

Under Scotland's Saltire Scholarship scheme, awards worth £8000 each are available for one year of study on a master's course to students from Canada, China (including Hong Kong), India, Japan, Pakistan and the USA.

This is part of the Scottish Government's continuing support for the 'brightest and best' students to come and study in Scotland in partnerships with Scottish Universities.

The deadline for submission of completed Saltire Scholarship applications is published within the link below.

Read more about Scotland's Saltire Scholarship

PhD Studentships

There are a number of PhD studentships available. Please see the Graduate School pages for details.

Other sources of funding

USA Federal Student Aid

Queen Margaret University is a Title IV School and is therefore authorised by the US Department of Education to certify applications (for eligible students) for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Our Federal School Code is G33494.

Please note that you need to notify QMU that you have applied for a loan as we are NOT automatically notified once you complete your FAFSA. Further information on the process for US Loans.

British Chevening Scholarships

What are Chevening Scholarships? Chevening Scholarships are the UK government’s global scholarship programme, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and partner organisations. The Scholarships are awarded to outstanding scholars with leadership potential. Awards are typically for a one-year Master’s degree.

Who can apply for a Chevening Scholarship? Chevening Scholarships are for talented people who have been identified as potential future leaders across a wide range of fields; including politics, business, the media, civil society, religion, and academia. Applicants should be high calibre graduates with the personal, intellectual and interpersonal qualities necessary for leadership. Chevening Scholars come from over 110 countries worldwide (excluding the USA and the EU), and this year the Scholarships will support approximately 700 individuals. There are over 41,000 Chevening alumni around the world who together comprise an influential and highly regarded global network.

How to apply for a Chevening Scholarship: Those interested in becoming part of the prestigious Chevening community should sign up for alerts through our country pages.

Further information: Applicants can also contact the Chevening Scholarships Secretariat.

Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan

For 2023/24, The Institute for Global Health and Development (IGHD) in Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh is offering three awards and the following three MSc programmes are eligible for the scholarship:

• MSc Global Health
• MSc Sexual and Reproductive Health
• MSc Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

The Shared Scholarship Scheme is a joint initiative funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and UK universities, to support scholarships for students from developing Commonwealth countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the United Kingdom.

All Shared Scholarship candidate applications must be made via the CSC’s online application system which is now open and will close at 16:00 (GMT) on 13 December 2022. 

PLEASE NOTE: Candidates should apply for a place on the course through QMU’s admissions application system separately and secure admissions to your programme.

Successful candidates will be selected on the basis of eligibility, qualifications, relevant experience and the supporting statement of the application form.  Decisions will be made by QMU as quickly as possible and in time for the first round of assessment for the scholarship.

For any enquiries, please email IGHD@qmu.ac.uk

British Marshall Scholarships

This is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. These are for US citizens under 26 who are graduates from US universities. The award covers fares, tuition fees, maintenance, book, thesis and travel allowances.

Fulbright Scholarships

This is again open to US graduate students wanting to study in the UK (it is not restricted by age or subject). Each year between 8 and 14 awards are offered to US citizens for the first year of Masters or PhD study in any discipline at any accredited UK university.

Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund

This scholarship makes awards of £2000-£5000 to Canadians who are enrolled on taught postgraduate programme, and at the time of application have completed at least one academic semester of study. Applicants should be able to demonstrate academic excellence, and require funds to complete their studies. Enquiries regarding this fund can be sent to scholarship@canadianscholarshipfund.co.uk.

Other useful resources

UKCISA: The UK Council for International Student Affairs

Prospects

Scholarship Search UK

British Council Website 

Contact us

For further information, please contact international@qmu.ac.uk. Alternatively you can call us on +44 131 474 0099.

EU and international undergraduate students fee discount: 2021/22

For 2021/22 entry we will be discounting our full-time international fee to £7000 per year for the following undergraduate programmes:

• BA (Hons) Business Management
• BA (Hons) Event and Festival Management
• BA (Hons) International Hospitality and Tourism Management
• BA (Hons) Media and Communications
• BA (Hons) PR and Marketing Communications
• Master of Dietetics
• Master of Nursing
• Master of Occupational Therapy
• Master of Physiotherapy
• Master of Podiatry
• Master of Radiography: Diagnostic
• Master of Radiography: Therapeutic
• Master of Speech & Language Therapy

The discount for the above programmes applies to all full-time undergraduate EU and international students with international fee status. It is being introduced both as an interim arrangement as EU students move to international fee status and to support undergraduate international students in their studies at QMU. The discount will apply for the duration of the programme (up to a maximum of four years).

The EU and international undergraduate fee discount introduced in 2021/22 which discounted our full-time international fee to £7000 per year for many of our courses has been embedded from 2022/23. Please see our 2022/23 fees page for the courses to which this fee applies.

There are separate arrangements for students from the Republic of Ireland and so they are not eligible for the discount above.

Arrangements for students from the Republic of Ireland

The Scottish Government has confirmed that undergraduate students from the Republic of Ireland who commence their studies in 2021/22 will have the same fee status as students from the rest of the UK, excluding Scotland. This means that full time students from the Republic of Ireland commencing in 2021/22 on an honours programme will be required to pay fees for the first three years of study (£9250 per annum). No fee will be charged in year four. A tuition fee loan of up to this amount will be available from the Students Awards Agency Scotland for Republic of Ireland students.

The Scottish Government have confirmed that, as a result of Brexit, higher education students from the EU starting their studies from academic year 2021-22 will no longer have the costs of their tuition fees met by the Scottish Government (but see exclusion below for students from the Republic of Ireland). ‘Home fee’ status for these students will come to end, and they will be classified as international students for the purposes of tuition fees. As part of our management of the Brexit transition, for many of our courses, we have introduced an EU transitional scholarship for EU full-time postgraduate students commencing their studies on campus in academic years 2021/22 and 2022/23. This provides a 40% discount on international tuition fees. The scholarship is available to EU students for whom the international fee rate applies and covers the majority of our postgraduate programmes. See our fees page for confirmation of the courses to which this scholarship applies. This transitional scholarship is not applicable to students from the Republic of Ireland, who will continue to be eligible for the home fee rate.

Special arrangement for students from the Republic of Ireland

Postgraduate students from the Republic of Ireland who commence their studies from 2021/22 will have the same fee status as home/rest of UK students. Details of home/rest of UK fees for each postgraduate course is available on our 2021/22 postgraduate fees page. Eligible students from the Republic of Ireland will also be able to access a tuition fee loan from Student Awards Agency Scotland.